In this Time Magazine article, R O Kwon addresses the topic that pretty much remains taboo even in the most liberal societies: not only are there people who choose not to have children, but also there are people who regret having children. She approaches this complex topic very carefully, understanding that no person in the world would wish to be this child their parents “would rather not have.” Still those parents, who regret, need to know that are not alone in the world.
Continue reading “TIME Magazine: Parents Who Regret Having Children”Category: media
WBEZ: Sex Miseducation
I forgot that I wanted to blog about this WBEZ episode, Comparing notes on sex miseducaiton .
It was aired at the end of March, and the name of it is very telling. The WBEZ guests discussed what they were taught at their sex education classes at school, and what should be taught. Absolutely worth listening!
TIME Magazine: How To Get A Real Rest
The funny story is that although the title of that article is the one I mentioned in this post header, the URL reads “how-to-rest-more-effectively,” which sounds like a joke in relation to what this article is about. It says that not everything has to be “effective” and that one should learn just to rest, period.
I am glad that Boris didn’t see this article because he keeps telling me that I should sometimes “do nothing.” To be fare, I “do nothing” when he is around more often than at other times, but then, of course, I have to compensate for that!
I reread this article several times. Fine, rest should be enjoyable. What if the thing I enjoy most is crossing the things off my list? What if I do not feel good if I haven’t done anything meaningful during the day? Would you agree with what this article says?
Continue reading “TIME Magazine: How To Get A Real Rest”4-day Work Week
I am absolutely sure that the work week has to be shorter than 40 hours. Whether that’s fewer hours in a day or fewer days in a week – I am not so sure. This TIME Magazine article says it’s not always as good as you may think…
Continue reading “4-day Work Week”TIME Magazin: How To Stop Procrastinating…
I am copying this article and thinking that none of my friends will believe that the problem described in it has anything to do with me, but it does!!!
While many things are not related to me at all, almost half of the “symptoms” are mine! I do not sleep in on weekends, and I do not “dread the next day,” but I am definitely trying to catch up with what I missed during the day and regain some control, especially when, like now, I objectively have to do more things than a day can handle. And I do shop on Amazon at very late hours.
Continue reading “TIME Magazin: How To Stop Procrastinating…”Before Mensplain
I had this article: Why Men Can’t Admit They Don’t Know Something by Brendan Leonard, in my bookmarks forever and never shared it; and isn’t it brilliant?! I tried it on Boris, and he had to admit his defeat (actually, I asked him whether he ever said explicitly that he was wrong – to anybody?)
Here it is – enjoy!
Continue reading “Before Mensplain”TIME: A Low-Spending-Month
I have some friends who do not believe that you can make a budget by carefully planning your expenses and not wasting money. They believe that the only way to improve your situation is to find a higher-paying job. Another group of my friends is the opposite: they know how to budget wisely and know that revising your expenses is the most important part of improving your financial situation. The way they are able to save amazes me!
Of course, not enough money is not enough money, and to what extent you can improve your situation is a relative thing. There are plenty of people around me who just don’t have enough. The question remains whether you are making the most with the money you have.
When I had already purchased my new place and hadn’t sold my old place yet, and also had to invest a lot into fixing my new home, I did exactly what this article suggests: I had a low-spending couple of months. Without drastically reducing my quality of life, I was able to cut my expenses by 40%. So I believe there is a lot of truth in what they are saying here.
Continue reading “TIME: A Low-Spending-Month”TIME: Is Walking Enough?
I do not have a strong opinion on whether walking is enough exercise. On the one hand, before people invented exercises, we all just walked and did something around and outside the house. On the other hand, the said people in the past performed way more physical activities than walking. Overall, I do believe that walking is important; it’s a big part of using your body how it is intended to be used. I feel better when I have enough walking throughout the day, and I walk very fast. Not because I think about it< as an article says, “as an exercise”, but because I love walking fast. Also, I will always remember that there were times when I could not walk without pain, so I will never take the ability to walk for granted!
Continue reading “TIME: Is Walking Enough?”TIME: Why We Do Not Bring Lunch To Work Anymore
I never thought that it’s a trend; quite contrary, everybody is complaining that ther is not enough “food traffic” in the city centers, and in Chicago Loop in particuler. However, when I read this article, I realized I could relate. At least some of the reasons for “not to” resonate with me. I know very well, that getting to work when you were working from home for a while is time-consuming and “too exhastive,” and all the “extra planning” work, which makes me especially thankful for my firm providing meal as work.:)
Continue reading “TIME: Why We Do Not Bring Lunch To Work Anymore”TIME Magazine: Rest Takes Hard Work
Yet another “one of a million” article about why people should take a vacation. Most time, no matter how many references to the rest of the world the author includes, these articles change nothing. What I like in this particular article is how the author, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, emphasizes the importance of short breaks rather than long European vacations.
The full text below.
There are few things better for us than regular rest. Whether it’s breaks during the day, hobbies that take our mind off work, weekly sabbaths or annual vacations, routines that layer periods of work and rest help us be more productive, have more sustainable careers, and enjoy richer and more meaningful lives.
Too often, rest gets a bad rap in our always-on, work-obsessed world. It’s also the case that learning to rest well is actually hard. Why is that? And how can we rest better?
Americans have long been known for our industry and ambition, but until recently, we also recognized the value of rest. The Puritans had a famously strict work ethic, but they also took their Sundays very seriously. In 1842, Henry David Thoreau observed, “The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure;” a decade later he wrote, “A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man’s life as in a book.” Post-Civil War captains of industry didn’t rise and grind, according to business journalist Bertie Charles Forbes: “No man goes in more whole-heartedly for sport and other forms of recreation than” industrialist Coleman du Pont, while Teddy Roosevelt “boisterously… enters into recreation” despite a busy public life. At the same time, union organizers, mass media and entertainment, and the parks movement democratized leisure: rest became a right, enshrined as much in college sports and penny arcades as in labor law. Richard Nixon, during a campaign speech in 1956, predicted that “new forms of production will evolve” to make “back-breaking toil and mind-wearying tension” a thing of the past, and “a four-day week and family life will be… enjoyed by every American.” Together, these sources paint a vision of American life in which work and leisure are partners in a good life, and “machines and electronic devices,” as Nixon called them, created more time for everyone.
But in recent decades, the world turned against rest. Globalization, the decline of unions, and the rise of gig work are factors that have created an environment in which people and companies feel compelled to work constantly. The CEO, for example, who steadily worked his way up from the mailroom to the corner office has been replaced by the 20-something genius who makes billions by disrupting the system. Technology lets us carry our offices around in our pockets, and makes it almost impossible for us to disconnect from work. Even the blue-tinted glow of our screens and late-night traffic noise can have a measurable impact on the quality of our sleep. Add raising children and managing family schedules, and Thoreau’s “wide halo of ease and leisure” sounds great, but ultimately, impossible.
Early in your career, it’s easy to believe that passion and youthful energy are inexhaustible. But at some point, family demands, a health scare, or the passage of time forces you to find ways of working that rely on experience rather than raw energy, are more sustainable, and let us run marathons rather than sprints. Not everyone successfully makes the transition. But in studying everyone from Nobel laureates and emergency room nurses, I’ve found that people who are able to do the work they love for decades, rather than burn out in a few years, share a few things in common.
Hettie's Reflections 